The present invention relates to a computer implemented method for controlling communication between networks and among a plurality of users, specifically, sharing of documents while controlling and updating access in database repository systems.
In current knowledge repositories, access control lists need to be built and updated manually. This is a time consuming task, especially as this requires knowledge regarding a number of individuals, their tasks, responsibilities, and need for access to database repositories.
Generally, in order to make information available to a widely dispersed public, the proprietor of the information will need to submit the information to a central repository. Work groups are common in the corporate environment, and the sharing of group information is a successful component of the work group dynamic. Work group documents may contain any combination of text, numbers, computer program source code, computer hardware schematics or layouts, database records, database references, digitized audio, digitized video, digitized visual images, or other digital information. The availability of this information is dependent somewhat upon the availability of the repository and the awareness of other people having access to the repository. Secrecy controls, when applicable, attempt to allow members of the work group to review and edit the documents while preventing such access by others outside the group.
Access control lists have been introduced to enhance security control measures. A system administrator assigns system users to one or more groups, and an access list that matches groups with access rights is associated with documents in the computer system. However, although access control has been previously defined, determining access control continues to be manually performed by the originator, with little knowledge of the many people and teams that may have a need for the protected information. An automated method of analyzing conversational patterns between people and teams in order to locate inconsistencies in the access level to knowledge repositories and dynamically update access control lists of the knowledge repositories is not currently available in the art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,534 issued to Lo, et al., on Apr. 3, 2001, entitled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING COLLABORATION IN CONNECTION WITH GENERATING DOCUMENTS AMONG A PLURALITY OF OPERATORS USING NETWORKED COMPUTER SYSTEMS,” document information relating to documents being generated is stored along with a user module; the document information including both document structure and document content. The user module includes a whiteboard display module to display a whiteboard to a user, selectively displaying document structure and content. Notecards are assigned to associate documents in a hierarchical organization, and stored separately from each other. Each notecard represents and effectively contains a content item, which may be used in a document. Lo describes the content and structure of documents on which information is stored in a controlled database. The structure, however, describes the document itself, and does not involve comments made while sharing the originated document, nor does it describe the tracking path of the shared document or file. Lo does disclose controlling access to a file containing information on the structure of a document, but the file from which the request for the information is issued is analogous to a web page as opposed to sharing a file or document and (a) controlling and building the access control list through tracking of the file or document among people, and (b) tracking the path of people with whom the file or document has been shared.
In International Patent No. WO 00/57605 issued to Wallace, and published on Sep. 28, 2000, entitled “DOCUMENT TRANSMISSION SYSTEM,” a document transmission system is disclosed consisting of a code generator, a document segment archive, and a document processor in communication with the document segment archive. The code generator provides for a document segment code, the segment code being uniquely associated with at least one document segment. The document segment archive includes segment records associated with predefined document segments, each segment including a code identifier associated with one of the predefined document segments. The document processor derives the target document from the segment codes provided from the code generator. Wallace describes a system to share a document by sending a combination of references to parts of the document, which are stored in a central repository. The document is put together at the location of the receiving party. However, Wallace does not handle access control or tracking of the information.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for analyzing conversational patterns between people and teams in order to more accurately assign access control of a shared document.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for locating inconsistencies in the access level to knowledge repositories.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method to dynamically update access control lists of knowledge repositories.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an apparatus and method for prompting an originator or user to facilitate control of the access control lists.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.